Natural gas output across the Lower 48 states in April nearly matched production in March, but it was 2.6% higher than in April 2009, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported Tuesday.

According to EIA’s latest Natural Gas Gross Production Report for April, wet gas production in the Lower 48 states hit 64.83 Bcf/d in April, barely up from the 64.81 Bcf/d reported in March.

Gulf of Mexico gas production was down 3.8% in April from a month earlier because of maintenance issues and shut-ins, the report noted. (The deepwater Macondo oil well exploded on April 20.) However, the decline in offshore gas output was offset by a 1.5% increase in production onshore, said EIA.

Most of the gas production gains onshore were in New Mexico and Oklahoma, which both showed 1.4% increases in output to April from March, said federal officials. Louisiana reported a 0.7% uptick in gross gas output month/month to 5.67 Bcf/d.

Including Alaska, U.S. gross gas production fell 1.1% to 73.94 Bcf/d in April from 74.78 Bcf/d in March. March’s figure was revised upward by EIA in the latest report.

EIA expects total, marketed gas production to increase by 1.2% this year. Henry Hub spot prices are forecast to average $4.49/MMBtu for 2010, which would be 54 cents higher from the 2009 average.

According to the Weekly Rig Roundup published on Monday by Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Inc., the U.S. gas rig count continues to move higher (see related story). Baker Hughes Inc.’s U.S. gas rig count — minus Gulf of Mexico gas rigs — as of last Friday was up by four rigs from a week earlier. RigData’s analysis week/week showed that 11 more onshore gas rigs were put into operation.

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